Ex-Youth League Contender Geofrey Mugisha to Lead Rival Forum

The NRM National Youth Forum has named Geofrey Mugisha as its chairperson, amid growing pressure from young party members for stronger organisation and an end to internal divisions.

Founded two years ago, the NRM National Youth Forum brings together National Resistance Movement youth leaders (past and present) and mobilisers tasked with engaging young people and feeding their views into party and national development structures.

Forum members said Mugisha was selected to lead the Forum for the next five years following consultations among youth leaders from different regions during a meeting held at Serena Hotel in Kampala on Monday, February 9, 2026. The meeting followed a resolution by regional representatives, during which Mugisha emerged unopposed after his competitor, Kabuye Fred, stepped out of the race after consultations. Mugisha’s supporters pointed to his grassroots mobilisation experience and conciliatory leadership style.

“He listens first and brings everyone on board,” said a youth leader from Wakiso. “But the real test will be whether he can unite factions that have weakened youth mobilisation across the country.”

In his remarks, the outgoing interim chairperson, Robert Jjuuko Ssewankambo, congratulated the newly elected leadership and emphasized the responsibilities of the role. “You, our new chairperson, Mr. Mugisha, are now the national face of this forum,” he said, calling on him to use the platform to advocate rigorously for issues affecting young people, not only within the movement but across the country.

However, multiple youth leaders say the Forum has in recent years been affected by internal rivalries and accusations of elite capture, particularly within Kampala-based leadership circles.

With more than half of Uganda’s population under the age of 18, youth mobilisation remains central to the ruling party’s long-term electoral strategy.

“There has been too much concentration of influence in Kampala, leaving district structures weak,” said Otim Tony, member of the Forum.

Mugisha, the Rubaga District Youth League chairperson, has worked with young people through civil society and business. He serves on the board of the Pan African Chamber of Commerce and is a former Executive Director of Amka Foundation Africa. Mugisha is also the former National Youth League (CEC) Contender in the recent election.

In his first public remarks after assuming the role, Mugisha said discipline, productivity and constructive engagement would guide his leadership.

“The youth of Uganda must be organised around ideas that build both the party and the country,” he said, adding that his office had begun consultations with stakeholders across the country.

Mugisha said the Forum does not take away what the League does, and that it instead plays a complementary role.

“No, the NRM Youth League is the grassroots political arm. It is the formal, partisan structure for mobilizing young voters and members at the local level. It has elected chairpersons at every administrative tier—village, parish, division, district, and national. The NRM National Youth Forum, on the other hand, is a coordinating and advisory body. It is a sitting of regional forums. The forum brings together all youth leaders, past and present, mobilizers, and representatives from across the country to strategize, harmonize activities, and channel youth perspectives to the party’s national leadership.”

Despite his appointment, some youth mobilisers remain cautious, urging him to decentralise forum activities and address long-standing grievances.

“We want to see real engagement beyond the Kampala offices,” said Christine Nambozo, a youth mobiliser from Eastern Uganda. “The forum needs accountable structures, not the same politics that divided us before.”

Mugisha’s emergence follows his decision to step aside from the National Youth League chairperson race in August last year after consultations with President Yoweri Museveni, a move that signalled his continued alignment with the party’s central leadership.